In the income statement (profit nd loss/ PnL) it describes all expenditure (expenses) incurred by a firm before taxes and other non-operating costs (interest charges, asset disposal, etc.). Above-the-line costs are  incurred by the business to create its products or provide its services to its customers. Generally speaking, above the line costs are: sales, cost of gross sales, or cost of sales. For manufacturing-type firms, above the line costs refer to any costs deducted from revenues to arrive at gross profit (these costs are collectively known as cost of goods sold (COGS)). For service-providing businesses, above-the-line costs are any costs deducted to reach at operating profit. In this case, these costs include COGS and also all selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs.